Hail Summoner
by Ryan Libra
Summary: A lone pokemon is about to surrender itself to seclusion because of its special ability. But when a trainer wants it for her team, how will this change such a fate?


Author's Notes  
><em>Wow. I finally got around to writing a one-shot. I honestly have no idea how this came tumbling out of my imagination, but here it is. The story kept evolving as I got deeper into it, and before I knew it Candice got involved. Ah, well. :D<em>

_I don't own Pokemon. But my Holidays will still survive even with this unshakable fact. xD_

- x x x -

_I am a Hail summoner_.

The pokémon let this thought enter its mind and plant deep, morose roots into its psyche. After all, this was a truth celebrated by the whirling snow and howling winds cavorting in front it, a reality upheld by the gray skies and frost-covered plains that spread out from it.

Wherever it went, the cold grew stronger. Wherever it traveled, the snow followed. Sometimes it observed other life forms beyond the blinding white, such as dark-colored felines that it had come to recognize as Sneasel, pokémon with pretty pink feather-like appendages and formidable claws. Then there were the fluffy brown Swinub, scooting through the chill with their noses up in the air, sometimes accompanied by enigmatic Snorunt, their round bodies hugging tight a triangle-shaped piece of cloth that it had foraged from who knew where. So few pokémon lived here in these frost-ridden paths, but they all shared one common denominator: they rather avoided a creature that brought Hail.

With its stubby legs, the pokémon waddled deeper into the dark cold. Not for the first time, it wondered if there was any more to this kind of living than wandering through endless blizzards. Or fending off all kinds of aggressive creatures.

And speaking of aggressive creatures…

The pokémon stopped. It felt a number of eyes scowling at it.

An angry chitter pierced the winds. Another followed. Then light flashed, and before the pokémon knew it it was flying in the air and crashing on the ground. A moan clawed its way out from it.

The pokémon was familiar with this mysterious attack: Hidden Power. And in this part of the world, only those freaky pokémon obsessed with meditation and transcendence knew of such a technique. Wrestling with a fear that was icier than the weather, it plucked a leaf from the foliage on its body and blew.

A melancholy lullaby wafted out. The pokémon felt the surrounding movement abruptly stop. As it ended the Grasswhistle, it heard a few unpleasant thuds. Not wasting another moment, it hauled itself up and fled as fast as its stumpy legs could allow.

This wouldn't be the first time this happened. Other pokémon always resented it when it came closer to their nests. No one wanted a visitor who brought hails with its mere existence.

Panting, the pokémon suddenly stopped. In front stood the blurry outline of another inhabitant of this snow-covered route. The creature chirped, bounded towards it before the pokémon could turn tail, handed a round package, then vaulted off in another direction.

Stupefied, the pokémon blinked at the spherical object. Unfortunately, it didn't have enough time to continue wallowing in bewilderment; the package suddenly glowed—

—and exploded.

- x x x -

Wakefulness came with pain. The pokémon's leafy appendages twitched uncooperatively before allowing themselves to come under its command. Taking ragged breaths, it righted itself up and extended roots from its base. An Ingrain would do nicely about now…

The pokémon shook its head. It should have known better than to witlessly accept a package from those unpredictable Delibird.

The Ingrain worked its magic. Feeling energy seep back little by little, the pokémon sighed.

Relief lasted only a few more seconds, though. It froze as it felt another creature suddenly appear in front of it. Only then did it realize that it had trapped itself with the very same technique it had used to regain its health. It couldn't escape.

"What'd you find, Snorunt?" a female voice asked through the snow and dark.

The pokémon trembled. _A human!_

The round creature with the triangle-shaped cloth chirped and glanced curiously at it. Still shuddering, the pokémon tried to back away, but the roots wouldn't let it.

"A Snover!" the girl exclaimed. As the human walked closer, the pokémon got a clearer view of her long black hair held by blue ribbons, a white blouse with a blue bow in front, and an above-the-knee brown skirt. Her sleek legs showed, and the pokémon wondered how this human could dress this way and remain comfortable, but it guessed this was the reason why she had thick socks with blue and white stripes. The girl had a grin on her face.

"You're perfect! I want you on my team!" The Snorunt chirped in excited confirmation.

The pokémon had stopped trembling, but it stood its ground—and not just because it was ensnared by its own Ingrain technique. Did this foolish human not feel the hail that it always carried wherever it went? The very same ability that caused others to shun it?

As if reading its thoughts, the girl nodded. She still had that grin on her wind-blown face. "You bring Hail, and it's perfect for the team I'm making. Won't you join me in making the best Ice team that Sinnoh's ever seen?"

All its life, the pokémon had known nothing but rejection. It had been ready to resign itself to a life of freezing solitude.

And now here was a human who was asking it to be by her side. Would it dare take the risk of fleeing from unbearable seclusion?

Gazing warily at the human's wide, bright eyes, the pokémon slowly nodded.

- x x x -

"And Luxray falls to the onslaught of a Blizzard attack! For this battle, Gym Leader Candice wins!"

Applause thundered from the gym trainers and other spectators of the battle. The Abomasnow's trainer, Candice, pumped a fist into the air with a loud whoop. As the victorious pokémon gazed at the Luxray's fallen form, it nodded at such an inevitable conclusion.

_I am a Hail summoner_. And these trainers who dared challenge its trainer had best know that this was its strength.

- x x x -

Author's Notes  
><em>I know that SnoverAbomasnow has a ton of weaknesses. Still, it was interesting to write about it. :)_


End file.
